Sophia Balakrishnan and Earl H. Dowell at the Bal Awards on Oct. 16 at USC. (USC Photo/Braden Dawson)
Sophia Balakrishnan knows her late husband was brilliant and beloved. Still, it gets her every time, every year, when his colleagues, peers and friends gather to talk about him.
The third Balakrishnan Awards, named after USC Viterbi alumnus A.V. “Bal” Balakrishnan and held Oct. 16, were even more special for Sophia: The event featured a video about Bal’s life, including family photos.
“I was really touched, because I didn’t expect this,” Sophia said. “He was never boring, never banal. And he respected people who were able to think creatively.”
One of those people is Earl H. Dowell, the William Hall Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University. The award goes to an early-career scholar in odd-numbered years, and for general research in even-numbered years. Xudong Chen of Washington University in St. Louis was last year’s early-career recipient.
Earl H. Dowell during his lecture as part of the Bal Awards on Oct. 16. (USC Photo/Braden Dawson)
Dowell’s work focuses on aerospace, and his presentation dealt with the properties of the materials in aircraft. He actually knew Bal: About 15 years ago, Bal emailed him asking about Dowell’s expertise in aeroelasticity, the force exerted when airflow (a fluid) meets the flexible material of an airplane.
“He suddenly developed this enthusiasm,” Dowell said. “He was an expert in feedback control. Aeroelasticity is between feedback control and fluid.” Bal arranged an NSF-funded project conducted by the two of them, as well as the late Dewey Hodges of Georgia Tech.
“It was very fruitful, because we challenged each other. It was a wonderful experience,” Dowell said.
See a gallery of photos from the event on Flickr.
Alampallam V. Balakrishnan was born Dec. 4, 1922 in India. He earned a master’s degree in physics from Presidency College in the city of Chennai, formerly Madras. He came to USC in 1946 to study filmmaking. He received a master’s in cinema and had a mind to get a job in sound recording for the movie industry. He earned another master’s from USC, in electrical engineering. But one of his professors, Ralph S. Phillips, the respected mathematician, recognized Bal’s abilities and encouraged him to pursue a Ph.D. in mathematics.
Bal developed and proved many theories during his illustrious career, many of which had applications in aerospace. He taught at UCLA, where he was on faculty at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science for more than 50 years. He mentored 54 Ph.D. students, and authored 12 books (including Applied Functional Analysis in 1981) and some 200 journal articles.
“He would encourage his students to be as independent in their research as possible, to publish papers under their own name,” said Petros Ioannou, University Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and Industrial and Systems Engineering, as well as the inaugural holder of the A.V. “Bal” Balakrishnan Chair.
Bal died March 17, 2015, in Los Angeles at 92. Through Sophia’s generosity, the Balakrishnan Chair was established, as well as the Bal Awards.
From left: Professor Petros Ioannou, Sophia Balakrishnan, Duke Professor and Balakrishnan Award recipient Earl H. Dowell, and Viterbi School Dean Yannis C. Yortsos. (USC Photo/Braden Dawson)
Several speakers at the event, held inside the Ming Hsieh Boardroom in Ronald Tutor Hall, spoke of Bal’s nimble mind and curiosity. Among them were USC Viterbi’s Dean Yannis C. Yortsos and Gaurav Sukhatme, the school’s executive vice dean and the inaugural director of the School of Advanced Computing.
“He was a visionary,” said Irena Lasiecka, chair of the mathematics department at the University of Memphis, who attended the event and who was mentored by Bal. “He was a prophet of the field, and many young people should be grateful to him.”
Published on October 28th, 2024
Last updated on October 28th, 2024
